Trend Following Mindset: The Genius of Legendary Trader Tom Basso
$17.89
Trend Following Mindset brings to life the timeless conversations between Tom Basso and Michael Covel originally featured on Michael’s renowned Trend Following podcast. In these profound and enlightening exchanges, Tom shares with Michael his deep wisdom on trading, business, life, and the how and why of his mindset.
Author’s Note:
Tom Basso was originally featured in Jack Schwager’s Market Wizards series and is most famously known as “Mr. Serenity.” Now retired from managing client money, Tom was president and founder of Trendstat Capital Management. He became a registered investment advisor in 1980 and a registered commodities advisor in 1984. He has deep experience in trend following trading. He’s a living legend.
No surprise I pursued him for his first podcast interview and he graciously agreed. Then he came on the podcast again, and again and again. The reception? The enthusiasm for Tom the retired legend was tremendous. What was it about Tom that resonated? His mindset. Meat and potatoes. Blunt. To the point, but caring. This is a unique way of being.
Then, one day I said to myself, “What if I added all of Tom’s episodes together to create one mega episode?” That became my episode 400. Mega episode 400 became an instant hit, but it did not stop there. Tom came on again and again. People loved him, so being the wise broadcaster, I listened to my audience.
- What’s special about Tom Basso?
- What makes his voice one you must consider?
Most investors attempt to study supply and demand, or some other fundamental factor they believe underlies some market value. They rely on government policy, economic projections, price-earnings ratios, and balance sheet analysis to make their buy and sell decisions. It’s a religion. And that religion (or cult) is called fundamental analysis. It boils down to telling stories—the stuff you see across Bloomberg, CNBC, etc., 24/7. It’s all a big guessing game. It’s an ego game.
Turn all of that off. I want you to think differently. I want you to think like Tom Basso—the trend follower. My objective with Trend Following Mindset is simple: combine all I can find about Tom in one unique book. That means all of my interviews (and others), plus Tom’s most important trend following research papers.
Before jumping into my first interview with Tom, I want to say something about my interview philosophy. A good interview doesn’t ask questions. It’s a conversation. I don’t ask topical questions about current events—that’s pointless. Headline interviews are brain poison for newbies who want to lose all of their money. I want timeless, universal insights from my guests. And what follows is just that—my timeless conversations with Tom (in Part 1), plus detailed insights about trading pulled from Tom’s career research (Part 2).
Author Seth Godin once said, “Once a commitment is made to a streak, the question shifts from, ‘Should I blog tomorrow?’ to, ‘What will tomorrow’s blog say?’” That’s exactly how I view my books and podcast. And I am damn lucky that a guy like Tom Basso helped to launch my podcast and ultimately Trend Following Mindset. Now it’s up to you. Take Tom’s market wisdom, his making money wisdom, or not. Your choice.
Contents:
- Enjoy the Ride
- Q&A with Mr. Serenity
- Brain Teasers
- Travel, Politics and Catastrophic Events
- Tools That Make or Break Us
- Adding Low Sharpe Ratio Investments Can Increase Your Sharpe Ratio
- Algorithmic Trading Is Getting a Bad Rap
- Currency Investing—Increasing Net Worth While Protecting Net Wealth
- Good Trading Is Not Rocket Science
- Some Leverage Is Good, Too Much Is Dangerous
- Study of Time Spent in Trending and Sideways Markets
- 10 Rules to Consider When Investing Your Money
- The ETR Comfort Ratio
- The Value Added of Asset Allocation Combined with Rebalancing
- Thoughts on Good Investing Psychology in the Midst of Turmoil
- Time Stocks Spent in Up, Down and Sideways Markets
- Timing the Market Revisited
- Risk Control System
- Measuring Futures Volatility
- The Logic of Trend Following and How to Improve Your Trader Psychology with Market Wizard Tom Basso
Trend Following Mindset: The Genius of Legendary Trader Tom Basso By Michael W. Covel pdf
| Author(s) | |
|---|---|
| Format | |
| Pages | 325 |
| Publication Year | 2021 |
9 reviews for Trend Following Mindset: The Genius of Legendary Trader Tom Basso
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Related products
Marcellus Wells (verified owner) –
Tom Basso appears to be a very frank, down to earth and wise gentleman, and he become wise at an early stage in life. There is much value in listening to him.
I bought and read several of Michael Covel’s books. – However, “The Genius of Legendary Trader Tom Basso” I do not recommend. While there are valuable episodes, I returned this book and do not recommend it.
There are several repetitive parts, and some chapters are not very meaningful at all. Only the first few chapters I enjoyed.
Younger traders with limited capital are better off reading the Complete Turtle Traders, or Michael Covel’s classic Trend Following.
To learn more about Tom Basso becomes far more rewarding by listening to various interviews online.
Zachariah Mayer (verified owner) –
This new trend of podcasts coupled with the wisdom of one of the most approachable Market Wizards is a winner. I’ve had the opportunity to listen to all of Tom Basso’s podcasts and to see the transcripts makes his wisdom even more valuable. Couple this with Michael Covel’s input into Basso’s trading thoughts and this book adds tremendous value to your trading AND philosophy of life. Grab a copy, absorb the wisdom, and as Tom says, “Enjoy the ride”.
Enzo Kaur (verified owner) –
I love how Michael Covel teamed up with Tom Basso to create a new edition to trend following literature, a book on the psychology of trading market trends systematically. This book is in the Market Wizards interview format using some of the best interviews on Covel’s podcast along with Chat with Traders to build something special. The areas of risk and trading systems are seen through the lens of also living a balanced life and enjoying the process. There are also great informative add on chapters at the end of the book creating high value research for readers on many trading topics. I highly recommend this book for fans of Trend Following and the Market Wizards series. I was able to absorb Basso’s lessons better in written form than in listening to his interviews as it is my preferred method for learning. Enjoy the read.
Carly Escobar (verified owner) –
I could not wait for this book, even pre-ordered it, still scratching my head. The book has three parts, Michael interviewing Tom, awesome content, maybe it should have stopped there, a monograph or another a little “Blackbook” Then a middle content, not sure how it fits in, a hodgepodge, of Tom, other CTA insights, historical graphs etc, very disjointed in my view, feels like a filler, a rambling, to create a thud factor. Covel should have dug deeper on the various Social Media platforms, Tom is on a minefield of gems, sadly out. Third part, ending with interviews done by Aaron Fifield, given that the extensive nature and in-depth interviewing by Michael, lots of repetitive information, this would be expected, a different interviewer; however, the same subject being Tom.
I’m not sure what to make of this book, not sure how I would have written it either, probably stopped with the first section and maybe add a couple of practical/detailed examples from Tom, i.e. risk management techniques, how he hedges etc, but then again just purchase Tom’s book “Successful Traders Size Their Positions – Why and How?”
Notwithstanding this, this will be a commercial best-seller, given the reputation of both author and Tom, but not a best seller book, from a content perspective.
Wade Monroe (verified owner) –
This book has made a profound effect on my investing mindset. I am grateful for Michael’s unique ability to capture my thinking and reset it in this book. In the volatile world of investing, Michael has found a mindset worth following that is applicable to real world solutions as well.
Cecilia Wagner (verified owner) –
This is an amazing book by a Market Wizard and legendary trader . I have all of Michael’s books and he hit a grand slam with Tom. Tom achieved it all, a great life, super success at trading and financial wealth while enjoying inner peace and keeping a great sense of humor.
Ainhoa Blackwell (verified owner) –
Michael Covel, known for his extensive work with trend following and the books he has published on the subject, provides insights into the thinking of Tom Basso, a legendary trader who was profiled in Jack Schwager’s “The New Market Wizards.” Covel selected five of his podcasts with Basso conducted over the 2012 to 2018 timeframe to provide insight into Basso’s market philosophy, approach, and lifestyle. This encompasses Part 1 of the book and half the book’s contents. Clearly, newbie traders and some experienced traders can learn a great deal by paying attention to a master trader who provides simple but valuable advice. Readers should have a pen and ruler or highlighter handy to underline key points, or do what I did which was make notes on a pad, in my case seven pages long.
Basso is a conservative trader who does not take big position or goes for big exposure, since he limits his risk, doesn’t get excited trading, and likes his trading day to be boring since he is rules-based. He is a big fan of the psychology of trading and mastering yourself. He uses the same strategy day-in and day-out since he has tested it and it works most of time. He believes that trend following occurs because there are asymmetrical returns. He knows he has to trade well today to be able to trade the next day and not get blown out of the water. Risk must be controlled. Basso quickly exits positions that turn against home whether he has a profit or loss.
Basso does have a Facebook page and a Twitter account which he posts to. He believes that each trader should design their own personalized trading methodology, as copying some else’s rarely works. He mentions that a trader needs to be prepared ahead of time to handle all sides of a trade and take decisive action to execute without any emotion involved. Moreover, he is a big believer in routines such as exercise, eating well, hydrating with water to make sure you are ready for the market day in the best of condition. He quotes and agrees with Dr. Van K. Tharp who said: “A good day for a trader is following your strategy.”
Although the five podcasts with Tom Basso were insightful, they could have been shortened or edited to include only the most relevant responses, as some back-and-forth comments were not germane. In my opinion, Covel could have added more value to the subject matter by simply summarizing the key Basso interview take-aways and place them in one chapter instead of including the actual 98-pages of podcast. Especially considering the rapid 35% market collapse in February and March 2020, to the phenomenal recovery through year-end 2020, Covel could have included a brand new interview with Basso covering the key market events in the past few years and Tom’s assessment of the situation, as well as get his take on the Robinhood & GameStop scenario, bitcoin, and SPACS. This would have added more current insights than prior podcasts.
Part II is an odd collection of 15 different research and publications most of which are only a few pages long, as the whole section is 80 pages. The topics and material are not related to one another and seem thrown in for no apparent reason, although a few of them were quite interesting.
The most useful items in Part II were the seven mistakes investors make compared to the dozen common-sense things they should do; the time stocks spend in three types of market conditions; timing the market revisited; and a 24-page interview with Basso conducted by Aaron Fifield in July of 2015 titled “The Logic of Trend Following and How to Improve Your Trader Psychology…”. I’m surprised this interview was not positioned at the end of Part I which is a more logical placement.
This last part is followed by a two-page bibliography, and a nine-page listing of selected diverse podcast episodes, many of which have nothing to do with trading or the markets, from an archive of over a 1000. There is no index. Owners of the book are able to download the eBook version for free.
In summary, the wisdom of Basso is clearly very valuable and that is why the reader should take copious notes and review them to get the most of this book. New traders will especially benefit from the many key insights that Basso provides. I will be going over my notes even though I’ve been trading for decades, as Basso’s advice is on the mark and accurate.
Holland Tate (verified owner) –
Entertaining read about a legend in the industry. I like Covel’s writing and the subject is just fascinating.
Cassandra Carrillo (verified owner) –
Information given by Tom Basso and collected by Mike Covel is Timeless and Priceless. The simple to understand way of looking at markets and reacting to price moves give a complete education to Trend Following and life management.